Wish This Was Me

Whether I'm printing shirts, preparing packages, or in this case opening Christmas presents it's safe to say Tiny will always be there reminding me how much better (simpler) his life is while he lays sprawled out on the floor.

Preview of Things to Come

So 2010 is coming soon and we're ready for it. Starting in January there will be 4 NEW original Akumu Ink designs, as well as 2 NEW collaboration designs. Here's a preview of our new collection that will be launched mid January. Can't wait to let you see it ;)

La Carmina Part 2!

Today we were mentioned for the second time on the lovely Carmina's blog with her wearing our Possessed tshirt. We appreciate so much the support from those who we've designed our clothes for! We've gone into Akumu Ink from the beginning with the intention to make clothes for morbidly fashionable crowd, so we're always happy to see that we are accepted by you. When your creation is sincere I think others notice ;) Thanks everyone, I hope you've either now discovered her very informative blog, or you've found us.

Friday Songs

Here is a good representation of how my mind is split into 2 extremely opposites which makes up for my creativity. Do you know a lot of white boys tortured by the kawaii pop music of the East all the while listening to nothing but the most brutal in Western music. I guess I like to be a part of something that is not popular in my surroundings. To have the pleasure of meeting or talking to someone with similar likes is very rare and always that much more pleasant. Just like Akumu Ink, such a small community. Sure some people buy shirts because they like one design and never return, or never come back to check the blog, or even never remember how to pronounce Akumu properly but that's ok. Because I know, and you who are reading this know that we're in this together and we don't need them ;)

So without putting this off further here are my song choices for today:
1- Bring Me the Horizon's 4th video from the album Suicide Season "The Sadness Will Never End"
2- The beautiful Mandarin pop icon Jolin Tsai...Who's music is better without the video, and for boys is more enjoyable without the music...This song "Butterfly" is from her latest album as well. Enjoy.

La Carmina Post

So what does the author of "Cute Yummy Time" and "Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo" think about Akumu Ink? Look for yourself here on her latest blog post! La Carmina is a fulltime blogger based on similar themes as our own. Also in her post she reveals a little secret "I’m so excited about Akumu Ink’s designs that we’re doing a fashion collaboration together… stay tuned for news! We may have something to show you as early as January!"

Very exciting stuff coming in 2010. Including in January 4 NEW original Akumu Ink designs, and the NEW La Carmina x Akumu Ink shirts(s)! Stay tuned.

New Alice in Wonderland Trailer!

Oh wow! As much as the teaser made me lose faith in Tim Burton looking at this new trailer has gotten me super excited for this dark children's tail. Loving the feel of the whole thing, can't wait till 2010!

Good Bye...Hello.

I know I'm terribly late and this is barely news as this single was released back in September. But this is the latest single from Japanese band 'High and Mighty Color'. Their sound can only be described by me as: Linkin Park, but not shit. The quality of the musicians performance is ridiculously technical, these guys know what they're doing with their instruments and I applaud them for that.

I've liked this band for over 4 years and have all their albums, the last one 'Rock Pit' being one of their best. On this album there is a new female vocalist. You can hear that her voice is harsher and raspier which sets a darker tone for the rest of this 'Swamp Man' album. Reminds me of a Quebecois female rock singers a bit. The video is fun and the song is as well. I would totally suggest trying this out if you want to get started in the world of Japanese pop rock music or if you want to add to your collection.

Mad Detective

I watched this pretty interesting Chinese movie about a cop who requires help from this insane detective to sol. It's a really good movie and very different from anything I've seen coming out of Hollywood. The trailer really doesn't it do it justice but at least it'll give you an idea of how weird the movie is.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Here's a fun movie Disney's putting out. It's got Nick Cage, Monica Bellucci, and a Montreal's own Jay Baruchel (Canada's Shia LaBeouf). Great looking Chinese parade scenes from the clips I saw. Looks like one of those fun movies that won't necessarily be memorable but worth the fee to see it in theaters. I'm assuming it's based loosely off of the Disney cartoon "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Anyways, loving the dark movie themes even if they come from Disney.

Little Update

This week was insane. My friend who's doing the boxing shirts needed a rush order for a last minute event. I worked on it for two days straight trying to make the deadline which I did (right up to the last second). It was crazy, I was so exhausted come Friday night.

Then yesterday we set up the Christmas tree and I worked on some sketches for an upcoming collaboration project until I fell asleep. Later in the night when I woke up I started working on one of the newer designs we'll be launching for January. Let me just say that I'm extremely excited as our collection is taking on a life of its own. This new line will bring Akumu Ink to the next level of what it was ever capable of before. More time to actually put into designs makes it that much more intricate and have that much more thought put into it. Can't wait to hear your reactions when the new designs are launched.

Today I'm going to focus on getting out the last of your orders out in time for Christmas. Talk to you soon.

Hurry!

If you haven't been following us on Facebook this went up today:







I had this idea of doing a Charlie and The Chocolate Factory contest, but instead of the prize being a to visit the factory it would be a sneak peek at our upcoming designs. We won't be releasing 1 design on our next release, but instead we might be releasing 3-5 at once. So be sure to get your photo up asap on our facebook page, if you don't know how just email it to me and I'll put it up for you, so you can get a sneak peek. And of course comment or give me feedback on those designs while they're in the form of sketches.

Sketch 3

It's a beautiful snowy day. We just sold off some of our original Akumu Ink screen printing gear. We updated our equipment just after the summer to be able to meet the demand, and finally we've had time to put it up for sale. Now that some of it's gone I'm sad I didn't take pictures of them. Oh well, no looking back :P

I spent way too long on this sketch, 35 min...Very bad, especially considering there was a lot of erasing involved. I'm not very impressed with myself on this one, maybe I should sketch more often to see better results. I want to get back to not using an eraser and not going over the same line twice. It's like going to the gym, you don't want to do it, but when you're done you want to keep doing it.

Blog Mentions

Nice mentions from 2 big blogs:

I Am The Trend referred to us in their "27 Hoodies and Sweaters that you wish your grandma would buy you for Christmas!"



and Toys R Evil mentioned our "The Vampire" Paper Toy ;)

Lucky Me

So yesterday I woke up as I do every other day to bring Dora to the train station so she can go to school. But yesterday came with a beautiful surprise (sarcasm)! Someone literally broke into my car and went through my glove compartment looking probably for a GPS or some other device that I don't own. Instead they embarrassed me by leaving out my Incubus CD's sprawled on the seat. As you can see in the photo they got in not by using some cool tool that they used in the movie 'Gone in Sixty Seconds'...they used a rock the size of a football. I'm more freaked out now of the tiny shards of glass that are in the dog cage. I hope Tiny doesn't get any stuck in his paws even after I've thoroughly vacuumed it. Thanks Mr. Robbers -_-*

10 New Pins

So yesterday we released 10 NEW pins. Honestly I was a bit disappointed with the reception of them on facebook, but what can I do?

I was rewatching this ridiculously violent Japanese horror movie called Suicide Club (Where like 100 girls stand side by side on the metro platform and all jump together in front of the train) and I thought how cool it would be to have something cute that like one of those Japanese school girl could wear but it still being violent or monsters. Like along the lines of our Never Say Die and Sip of Death shirts. But I could never come up with anything new, so I asked a friend of mine who I used to work with to help me out on this one. My friend Jon is a children's book illustrator and I've been asking him for a long time to do something with us.

So I hope you like them :)

Toys For Everyone!

So I think we left the availability open long enough now for all our return buyers to get their hands on the limited edition "The Vampire" paper toy. So right now we're opening the flood gate to everyone who picks up a package. Simply buy any one of our three packages and get a FREE paper toy. Here is a great pic of the toy:

What I'm up to

Working on a bunch of new stuff these days. I've been so not creative for so long that I surprise myself sometimes. I worked on a bunch of new designs last night which I am really excited about working on further.

Also working on a 2009 catalog for all you potential wholesalers out there. If you know any stores near you that would like to carry our stuff please ask why they don't have Akumu Ink in their shop. We're hoping to be in more stores in 2010, that would help us so much in expanding our line with more items at great prices.

Also working helping my friend printing his boxing tshirts (In no way is this affecting the future of Akumu Ink, I'm just helping out my friend). His latest shirt came out great. Here's a picture of the actual boxer wearing it. He'll be fighting this weekend and the event will be on HBO, so if you watch it and see the shirt, I printed it ;)

Refused "New Noise"

Saw this video for the first time in a long time 3 days ago. One of my top videos that got me into the scene. Love the style and the energy. I saw this video back in highschool and felt like this was the closest thing to punk rock that I could relate to being a kid from the suburbs. I couldn't really relate much to Rancid or even Blink 182. But this had that underground feeling that I was looking for. Crank up your speakers cuz this song and video rocks:

Sketch 2

Forcing myself to sketch weekly is a great exercise. It's crazy how far I've fallen behind since I've left school. Sketching used to be so much more fluid for me a few years ago. Even my shading is kinda crap, it's going to be great if I can keep this up and produce better Akumu artwork because of it. For future 'Sketch' posts would you prefer if I included or removed the actual photo that I sketched from?

American Apparel or not?

I have a question for all of you: Do you care if we use American Apparel tshirts?

I'm proud to use American Apparel (a quality fabric made in the USA, with genius marketing behind it) but I'm curious to know what you think. If our shirts felt the same and were cut the same as American Apparel but were a no named brand would you mind? I'd like to know where your heads are at on this matter so we may offer you the best product for you.javascript:void(0)

Tim Burton Interview

I'm aware that I didn't post a sketch last week. Shame on me :( last week was very busy, but I'll make sure to sit down and sketch today. But for now check out this great interview with Mr. Tim Burton. They show a bunch of drawings he's done from when he was a child to now. I love how he mentions when he was a kid teachers and grown ups would tell him not to draw the way he did, I had the same thing!

Detailed Horror

I saw this on the Kanye West blog. It's friggin' amazing. So dark but soo detailed. This sculpture is 35.5" x 36" and called "A Tribute to the Madness of Beethoven." Made by an American artist by the name of Kris Kuksi, check out his other works here.

Red Corner Apparel

I know I haven't updated during the past few days. I've been helping my buddy with his tshirt line Red Corner Apparel. Different from our line his shirt line is based on up and coming boxers. He used to be my manager at my old day job and he actually quit a few months before I did to also follow his dream. Only recently with me leaving my job have we actually joined forces so that I would help him print his designs. If you like boxing, or know someone who would like these shirts check them out as I will be the one printing them ;)

Weird Video

Have you seen this weird video? I'm not a fan of Lady Gaga, but this video has razorblade glasses, creepy black jester hats, creepy anorexic backbones, and effing awesome gold jaw bone masks. Not to mention the last scene when she's laying on burned bed with a dead guy. This video is way more terrifying than anything Marilyn Mason has put out in a long time. So what if the backgrounds are white and she wears a crazy dress made out of crystals? I really hope that gold plated jaw bone mask comes into style, cuz I would totally start wearing that.

French Interview

We were interviewed earlier this week by a Montreal horror blog "Sinistre Blogzine" that we met in Toronto at the Festival of Fear. It's a great blog that updates you on all Horror news and events. The entire interview is in French thanks to Marc the interviewer for translating everything and making me sound smart. Although I can speak fluently in French I have the skills of an elementary student when it comes to expressing myself in the French written language. They have this great concept of posting a 13 question interview on every Friday the 13th. So here you go, check out the Sinistre Blogzine here.

Buy 'Of Horror' Get FREE Toy

Ok I'm opening this one up to everyone who orders from us today FRIDAY THE 13TH oooh!

EVERYONE who buys Of Horror I on tshirt OR hoodie gets a FREE "The Vampire" paper toy. Only today, after today it's closed back to only returning customers who buy the packages.

Whether you buy a package that includes the Of Horror tshirt/hoodie, or you just buy the Of Horror tshirt/hoodie as a single item, you will receive the free paper toy.

Buy This Today:

























Get This for FREE:

Sketching Again

Sketching is like a muscle that needs to be excercised. The more you excercise the stronger you become. Being home now I need to force myself to get back into the habit of drawing something daily to strengthen my skills. Here is a sketch I did of Korean singer BoA. I can't remember the last time I just sat down and spent 15-20 min sketching up something like this. I felt extremely rusty, but as time goes by I'll get back into it. Hope you like it. Would you like me to post my sketches weekly?

No More US Shows :(

If you found us through one of the US conventions we did over the summer then let me warn you. We will not be returning to the US for any more conventions in 2010. Unfortunately we've metaphorically bled financially due to the last 3 shows we did. The Canadian customs officers decided to "teach us a lesson" and pretty much rendered it impossible for our little company to be able to afford to go back and forth through countries.

So just to let you know, if you saw and/or bought from us at a US convention we will not be returning next year. So your best bet is to get your Akumu Ink fix here through our webstore.

If any of you know of any interesting conventions other than tattoo or anime conventions within Canada that we should consider let me know :)

Shirt Closeups

I'm always trying to update the look of our shop to give you a better idea of the product you're purchasing. Sometimes we post items on different shirt colors without showing a preview cuz no one has ordered it yet or someone did order it but I didn't get time to take a photo because it had to be shipped out imidiately. Well here is one older shirt "When A Cat Smiles" and one newer shirt "Death's Embrace" vneck with some updated shirt closeups for your viewing pleasure :)

Christmas Shipping Dates

Thinking about getting something from Akumuink.com for Christmas? Here's an approximation of your ordering deadlines for things to be sent in the post. Don't forget to give us at least 2-3 days to print your order before we can ship it out to you.

Cancer Bats wearing The Storm

Great way to start the day today. The boys from Meet the Storm just did a show the other night with Canadian punk rock band Cancer Bats. I don't know how it went down but the boys gave singer Liam our The Storm tshirt and he wore it on stage that night during his performance. Thanks Cancer Bats and thanks Meet the Storm!

Steampunk Museum

Check out this video about the Oxford Steampunk Art Exibition, from October 13 2009 to February 21 2010 at the Museum of the History of Science, UK.

Great Japanese Movie

Looking for a photo of 'Friend' from the movie '20th Century Boys' I landed on a new blog that answered all my questions. It's like a renting asian movies for dummies guide. The layout is great showing the movie cover, then an English synopsis, a rating of the movie, and finally a trailer of the movie. Simple and clear. Here's the link to the blog.

So now let me tell you about this great movie I watched because of that blog. It's called 'Love Exposure' and it's a 4 hour story that deals with sexuality and cult religion. What I love about Japanese movies is their lack of censorship to how the director wants to express his vision. There's some messed up scenes, but this is nowhere near a horror movie. I honestly have no idea what genre this would be in but it was great. Took me like 3 days to watch it but it was like watching a really good short tv series. I recommend it if you're looking for something different with a great story line.

Fall

The leaves looked just like this last week before Halloween. Now they've all fallen to the ground leaving the trees bare. This is the downside to living in Canada. Every year I'm in denial that it's going to snow again. And we're not talking an inch of snow, we're talking about 3-5 feet of snow! But let's enjoy what we have while we have it, beautiful fiery coloured leaves. I wish I could hibernate like a bear, go to sleep and come back out in the spring when it's all over. Anyways here's some pics of my neighbourhood while I was walking my dog Tiny (I prefer calling him Mr.Tatas).

Another Toy Picture

Here's a nice closeup pic I took of the NEW paper toy.

"The Vampire" Paper Toy

Thanks to everyone that jumped on the packages.

Wanted to spend a little more time explaining the limited edition paper toy. As I've mentioned again and again, this toy is ONLY for returning customers to akumuink.com just a little something to say thanks to all those who are following our blog and/or facebook. We are creating this brand for you so obviously you deserve perks that not everyone else can have ;) Just a little thank you to those of you who have been so devoted to us.

So to explain a little more about "The Vampire" paper toy. I was inspired when watching 'Blood: The Last Vampire' which was a pretty crap movie but got me totally in the zone to create this Japanese, Edward Gorey styled Vampire character. I was working on him at the same time as "The Ripper" design and really felt when working on these two that this was a style I wanted to pursue and explore further. I'm really looking forward to where we're going to go in the next few months with Akumu Ink in bringing new designs and characters to you. Happy Halloween!